the return

sooo...je survivrai!

after six weeks of sailing from puerto vallarta mexico to papeete tahiti and then a week of working on the boat I have returned to the frozen land of the north, which I expect is really only frozen because the weathergnomes have taken pity on me because I've been deprived of snow for the past two fall-winter seasons.

how else do you explain Tacoma's current state? although it is entertaining to snigger at the weather when it comes on and people complain of bitter cold and they're talking about 15 degrees fahrenheit weather. granted, I'm cold, but I have an excuse.

almost almost almost got a tattoo in tahiti. would have, but the artist was busy. and james would probably have to kill me for getting ink without him.

lots of fun sailing. lots of partly digested food lost to Neptune in the first few days. for some reason my watch was the one that had the most hard-hit seasick people, although it gave us a chance to impress the scientists when we would tagteam learn how to do the procedures. (rachael would be ready to come back from the rail about when I couldn't stand being in lab any more, and vice versa). lots of very entertaining night orders from the chief scientist.

I have become an authentic real live shellback. take that! I have been punished for my crimes against neptune (bleeding into his ocean without permission -I still maintain my innocence. I didn't ask for the winch handle to bite me) and emerged triumphant. and with all my hair, because I'm not stubborn at all. no, you don't get to know the sordid details. cross your own damn equator.

I can pour noxious chemicals behind my back and staggeringly drunk (not that I would) because nothing can be worse than pouring chemicals for nitrate analysis in the middle of a squall with 9foot seas.

I can use lots of nautical, salty-sounding words and know what they mean. (as a side note, katy, dithy- I HAVE A PLOT!)

I can survive (albiet with difficulty and occasional moments of great confusion to my shipmates) 6 weeks without contact from my fiancé. if I don't see him soon though I'm gonna go crazy.

I have lots and lots of pictures, all of which are still on the boat because the computers hate me and refused to burn the cds. sigh. as I develop the pictures off of my real camera I'll slowly start to open the floodgates.

I can knit on a heeling ship and have successfully trained my shipmates to take flying leaps for yarn as it tries to roll overboard.

I'm jealous of Haley, because I want a puppy to play with, and her family just got another seeing eye puppy to train. sigh.

I've descended into utter randomness and incoherency. time to go back to sleep. mmmmsleep.